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Shelley Unwin
Shelley Victoria Unwin (previously Barlow) was landlady of the Rovers Return from 2002 to 2006, daughter of Bev Unwin, and wife of Peter Barlow in a bigamous marriage. Shelley was hired as a barmaid by her old friend Duggie Ferguson in 2001. Shelley knew Duggie from the Weatherfield Rugby Club where she'd pulled pints in the club bar. Her promotion to landlady came about when the Rovers' owner Fred Elliott split from his wife Eve and appointed a manager to take over the day-to-day running of the pub. Shelley was highly popular in Coronation Street, with her best friend being Sunita Alahan. Her time there was blighted by two major - and disastrous - relationships with Peter Barlow and Charlie Stubbs. In 2003, she discovered that Peter was leading a double life and was already married with a son, Simon, when he and Shelley said their vows that summer. The marriage was subsequently annulled and Shelley threw Peter out. Charlie was a controlling womaniser who frequently cheated on Shelley - including with her own mother. Over many months, he chipped away at Shelley's confidence until she was afraid to leave her own bedroom. In 2005, she overcame her fears and dumped him at the altar. Shelley left the Street in 2006 when she got a new job at a country club in the Peak District. Before her departure, she had a one-night-stand with Charlie and got pregnant, but told him that the baby would never know who its father was. Biography Shelley Victoria Unwin was the daughter of Bev Unwin and the late Charlie Unwin. Shelley came to the rescue when staff was short behind the bar at the Rovers in 2001. She had worked behind the club bar when Duggie Ferguson was playing for Weatherfield Rugby Club. They were very good friends but it never developed into any more than that. Shelley was devastated when Duggie died at The Ridings property development. In the Rovers, Shelley proved to be a popular barmaid. After Fred Elliott bought the pub, Shelley and Geena Gregory competed for the position of bar manager. Shelley was given the job and Geena resented it. Shelley had settled into the job quite well though did tend to be a bit too lenient with the staff. Her best friend was Sunita Parekh who worked in the Corner Shop. Relationship with Peter Barlow Shelley fell in love with Peter Barlow over Christmas, 2001. Peter had recently purchased the bookmaker's shop and flat above, however he moved into 19a Victoria Street and Shelley joined him during the following February. They went through a rough patch and broke up for a while after Peter's friend Ciaran McCarthy made a pass at Shelley. She didn't tell Peter at first but when he finally found out, Ciaran made it sound as if Shelley came on to him. Peter became very jealous and Shelley, hurt that Peter didn't believe her, left. Once it became clear to Peter that Ciaran was lying, Peter cut off his friendship and he and Shelley reconciled. Ciaran returned to Weatherfield for Peter and Shelley's engagement party and stayed on, much to Shelley's chagrin. Peter and Ciaran began to renew their friendship and Shelley ended up accepting it but never really trusted Ciaran, who later got engaged to Sunita. Peter and Shelley moved into the pub when Fred moved in with his son Ashley Peacock at 4 Coronation Street after the death of his wife Maxine, but what Shelley didn't know was that Peter was seeing another woman, Lucy Richards, who got pregnant. Peter couldn't find the words to tell Shelley, because every opportunity either got interrupted or he lost his nerve. Just when he finally wanted to tell her, a week before he was going to marry Lucy, Shelley's sister, Sharon, died. Peter married Lucy on the day of Sharon's funeral, but Lucy soon found out that Peter had never broken up with Shelley and kicked him out for good. Peter, although not divorced, married Shelley in July 2003. Peter's baby, Simon had just been born. By the end of the summer though, Lucy spilled the beans and told Shelley about her and Peter's marriage and the baby. Shelley and Peter broke up for good and Shelley then nursed a broken heart while trying to run the pub with the help of her mother, Bev. In January 2004, Shelley had an ill-fated date with Newton & Ridley drayman Eric Gartside. Eric tried his best to woo Shelley and took her out for an expensive meal; however, when they went back to his house for a drink, she was quickly put off by his mother, Dolly. Shelley told Eric that he was a lovely fella but she didn’t think things would work out between them. Relationship with Charlie Stubbs Shelley then started seeing builder Charlie Stubbs, even though he had been previously going out with her mother, Bev. In spite of his relationship with Shelley, it didn’t take Charlie long to bed Bev behind her back. Bev made the awkward decision to come clean to her daughter, but Charlie made sure that Shelley didn’t believe a word of it. Devastated that her daughter could believe Charlie over her, Bev left the Rovers and Weatherfield. On her return to Weatherfield, Liz McDonald was offered a job and a room at the Rovers by Fred. Shelley and Liz didn’t get on from the start, as Shelley had already hired Leanne Battersby to fill the position left by Bev. Fred said that his choice was final, and Liz stayed. It didn’t take long for Charlie to begin to make a move on Liz. She refused his advances and told Shelley, who, true to form, rejected any claim that Charlie could cheat on her. Again, Charlie pressurised Shelley into believing him, and Liz was sacked from the pub and left Weatherfield briefly to help Bet Lynch in Brighton. Charlie and Shelley’s relationship continued to be a picture of happiness to the other Street residents, and to Shelley herself. When Liz returned she was reinstated at the Rovers, but it wasn’t long before Charlie tried it on yet again. She walked out, this time for good, and took a job at the Weatherfield Arms. After Liz had left, Shelley became more and more concerned about Charlie straying. The height of this came when a drunken Shelley marched over to No.8 and confronted Gail Platt, who she thought was having an affair with Charlie. The two women argued in the Street, and Gail told Shelley that Charlie was doing some building work for her. Shelley was shame-faced and Charlie told her that she was stupid. Shelley grovelled to Charlie and they stayed together. After Maya Sharma burnt down Dev Alahan’s grocery shop empire, Shelley thought, that since they were friends, Charlie could do all of the rebuilding work for Dev. Over dinner at Dev and Sunita’s flat, Shelley made suggestions to Dev that Charlie would do the work for cheap and that he could start as soon as possible, since he had little work on the go. This enraged Charlie who, back at the Rovers, told Shelley that she had seriously undermined him and made him look like a fool who couldn’t get any work. Again, Shelley grovelled. In December, Shelley made contact with her mother, Bev. The two women arranged to meet for lunch and Shelley told Charlie that she was going to a Newton & Ridley Christmas do. Sly Charlie phoned the brewery, who told him that there was no such party, and his suspicions started to increase. He confronted Shelley who tried to deny her whereabouts at first, but when Charlie accused her of seeing another man, she admitted that she’d been to see Bev, and that they planned to meet up again. Charlie then made Shelley phone Bev and tell her that she didn’t want to see her anymore. Charlie continued to put Shelley down, and after every phone call he accused her of talking to her mother. A few weeks later, Bev turned up at No.1 and asked Deirdre Rachid to pop next door to the Rovers and fetch Shelley because the two women needed to talk. Shelley said that everything was fine with Charlie and tried her best to make Bev think the same. As she was leaving, Bev told Deirdre to keep an eye out on Shelley as she thought that Charlie was treating her badly. For New Year, Charlie bought Shelley a new dress; however it transpired that the dress was two sizes too small for Shelley. Charlie pretended to be upset that he’d got the wrong size, but then hinted that instead of getting a replacement, Shelley should try and lose some weight. Shelley was upset by this, and told him to get the dress in a larger size. Instead, Charlie gave the dress to his workmate Jason Grimshaw who hastily gave it to his barmaid girlfriend Violet Wilson. Shelley was humiliated when Violet turned up at work in the dress, and caused a scene in front of a pub full of regulars. In the end Charlie managed to get his own way (as usual) when Shelley suggested that it would be a good idea to lose a bit of weight. Charlie further isolated Shelley until she ended up hiding away from everyone in her bedroom for several months. She pushed away all her friends, including Ciaran who ended up leaving Weatherfield. Shelley thought having some plastic surgery on her face would help her feel better about herself so Charlie paid for it. She then thought that they should get married and Charlie went along with it, not thinking she'd actually go through with it. In the meantime, he found her a psychologist because she was also retreating from him. He didn't realise that Zack would start to give Shelley the confidence she needed to start standing up to Charlie. He tried to fire Zack since he was paying the bills. This seemed to be the wake-up call that Shelley needed. She did manage to get to St. Christopher's Church and so did Charlie after a night with a woman he met at the Weatherfield Arms. Shelley dumped Charlie at the altar and took herself home through the streets of Weatherfield, head held high. She threw Charlie out and started rebuilding her life and her friendships. Departure After her mother, Bev, agreed to marry Fred, Shelley started to feel more left out and overshadowed in the pub when Bev started acting the landlady even before the wedding. Shelley decided she needed a fresh start and got a job at a country pub. Before she left, she had a one-night stand with Charlie. She returned a month or so later to help her mother with the wedding, only to reveal that she had become pregnant after the night with Charlie. Bev wanted Shelley to terminate the pregnancy but Shelley was determined to keep it, a new baby and a fresh start. She insisted that Charlie not find out about it. Bev slipped up and told Deirdre who was horrified because Charlie was now in a relationship with her daughter Tracy. Deirdre insisted she was going to tell Tracy before Shelley - but Shelley got there first - leading to a confrontation in the back room of the pub. Tracy, of course, confronted Charlie and told him to insist Shelley had a termination. Shelley almost got away without seeing Charlie but he confronted her. She insisted she would keep the baby and would never ask him for a penny. He didn't believe her, but she left, telling him that the baby would never know who its father was. Personality Relationships Hobbies and interests Background information First and last lines "Well that depends! If you're talking about booze, I don't drink while I'm working. Well, not supposed to anyway!" (First line to Peter Barlow) --- "You're not listening are ya?! This is my child! And they will never know you existed. And as far as I'm concerned, you don't exist either. You will never see or hear from me again. I'll put it in writing if you want! If it'll put that poisonous little mind to rest. Do you know what, Charlie? I'd even pay you money if it meant that I never saw you again. I've got what I want from you. You're surplus to requirements. Now get out of my way! I've got a train to catch!" (Final line) Appendices See also *Full list of appearances Category:Coronation Street characters Category:Rovers barmaids Category:Rovers residents Category:1973 births Category:2003 marriages Category:2006 departures Category:2001 debuts Category:Residents of 19a Victoria Street Category:Barlow family Category:Unwin family